Glass cutter at work in Chch

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32679, 7 August 1971, Page 6

Glass cutter at work in Chch

Hand-cut glass decoration is a skill almost as ancient as the glass industry itself, but in New Zealand it has been virtually unknown. . Cut glass decoration is mainly associated with crystal. However, it also adds lustre to plain glassware, as the work of a skilled Greek glass cutter, Mr John Monemvassios, shows. Mr Monemvassios, a glass cutter for 22 years, wanted to come to New Zealand because he felt he would be better off financially here, and because his family- would still have the benefit of a good climate. Through an interpreter (he speaks virtually no English) Mr Monemvassios explained recently that he had originally approached A.H.I. Crown Crystal Glass last year, and because of the encouragement he received had decided to bring his famjly to New Zealand. “In Athens I had my own workshop and showroom,’’

he said. “Although my main work was in decorating imported glassware brought to me by local retailers ,1 did produce a lot of cut glassware for sale from my own showroom.” Mr . Monemvassios, who spent a five-year apprenticeship in his trade, said glass cutters were rare in Greece. There was little glass produced there and he worked mainly on imported glassware from Italy and France.

He finds New Zealand glassware equal to that produced in Italy and France and of excellent clarity. “But like most glass produced in Europe, it tends to be a little harder than I would like for my work,” he added. Working to his own designs, and using very few tools, Mr Monemvassios is producing some most intricate work in the firm’s existing glassware ranges. He can reproduce the same design in a range of sizes with ease and skill. The photograph shows Mr Monemvassios at work on a range of glasses at the factory.